Monday, October 31, 2016

As we start approaching the end of the year, I have taken the advice from Jennifer Wilson from Simple Scrapper to make a priority list of the pages and projects I would like to complete for this quarter. Before I get myself immersed in all things December Daily, I had these priorities.

Priority #1- Finish Shimelle's class, the 20 Project.

I have completed 17 of the 20 challenges. There is one challenge that just doesn't fit my process (make page kits from my scrap basket) so I don't think I plan to complete it. I make my own page kits, but usually from paper lines and I store my scraps that way until the collection is depleted to the point that I use it to make cards. I have made many of the pages for the other challenges using my own "kits" but I don't create them in the same way as she had.

So that leaves 2 more challenges for that class.

Priority #2- My pages in progress pile

So if you have been checking out my blog for a few years, you would know that I have a stack of pages in different stages of completion. This stack I have made sure has not gotten any larger. I don't start a layout that I don't intend to complete before starting a new one.

This layout below is an example of one of my pages in progress that I finally finished. It needed journaling and a date.

This layout has been in the works for a very long time. I purchased a Sizzix kit on clearance years and years ago that had dies and texture plates themed perfect for this event. I was bound and determined to use it!

I found leftover product from a Basic Grey KOTM that had the pinks I was looking for and a layout from Ali Edwards that I mimicked the page design from. I had a lot of photos and I didn't want to make this 2 pages so this design was perfect for them.

Here is the lovely texture plate a work. I have a handful of these and need to use them more. I totally resonated with Shimelle when she made that as one of her challenges. I buy these things but forget that I have them in the process of making a page.

I added the journaling on strips and placed it in the last open space on the layout.

I had scraps of this die cut paper from Basic Grey that I absolutely love and found a way to use the last few bits of it that I had left on this layout.

I stamped the title with alpha stamps from my stash and letter stickers from the kit.

And here I used the Sizzix die of the ribbon to embellish the page.

So glad to have this page finished! Now to complete 4 others from this pile this quarter and I will have met my goal for this quarter!

I have two other priorities this quarter before I want to get started on my planning for December Daily.

Priority #3: Make Progress on Ali Edwards' 31 More Things Class

Priority #4: Maddie's Baby Album

More will be said about these priorities when I get further along with the others.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Here is a layout I recently did that DID NOT have anything to do with a class or a challenge.

I had recently purchased some product from Elle's Studio and was ready to make something with it as soon as it entered my house!

Some of the product is from the Sunny Days 6x6 paper and Bits and Pieces as well as the Little Moments 12x12 paper collection and Bits and Pieces. I also threw in Cienna stickers in to my order which I used some as part of the title.

My favorite piece of paper in the Sunny Days collection is this ombre wave paper. I used it to house my journaling and title.

The title is a wood veneer from Heidi Swapp.

Loved that I could mix and match the bits and pieces of these two collections to make embellishment clusters.

Added a bit of washi tape and wood veneers from my stash and my page was complete!

So there you have it! Really love how this page came together! Feels good to use up some favorite new products!

Monday, October 24, 2016

Here is a layout I completed with Shimelle's class, The 20 Project in mind. The challenge was to use washi tape with a purpose.

I struggled with this layout a bit. I have had these photos, that are not the best, that were taken with a one use water proof camera, to be scrapped for a long time...2007. I paired it with this summer collection from Bella Blvd. Then I went through my stash of washi and found tapes that would coordinate with the papers.

My photos had a bunch of unsightly clutter in the background that I tried to distract from by clustering embellishments there. I cut paper, used stickers and puffy stickers to embellish. I also used some Ali Edwards stamps to stamp summer 2007.

Used a cut apart sheet and used the cloud for my journaling.

Used the letter stickers in the kit as well as some green Kelly Purkey/Simon Says Stamp alphas t finish off the title.

Not my favorite layout, but liked getting some use out of old stuff in my stash and getting that much washi tape used on a layout.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Here is a layout I created for Shimelle's class, the 20 Project. The challenge was to whittle down that giant stack of photos.

I had printed all of the photos my friend had sent me from a playdate at her house. There were over 10 photos in the stack and I had never figured out how to include them all in one layout. Those photos had been sitting a long time unscrapped and my philosophy of scrapbooking has changed a bit since then. Going back through, I had the choice to divide the photos into two different stories, and still whittle down the number, or get them down to even a smaller number of photos and make one 2 pager.

I opted for the 2 pager. I did however create a pocket on the back of the layout to house the extra printed photos minus 2 that were blurry that I reluctantly placed in the trash.

I created this layout using an extremely old BoBunny line. Old as in older than 2009. I had purchased the sticker sheet and two patterned papers that were super light weight a long time ago, but had paired it with some matching card stock.

This collection, when I bought it, was perfect for my son. Talking about playing in dirt, and the colors, so it was fitting to find photos from that same time period.

For this challenge, Shimelle had pulled out her fabric brads and I thought, "Hey, I have some of those!" So I also challenged myself to use some as well. The brown corduroy brads are from Stampin' Up! and I don't know where the blue fabric ones are from.

I used a Martha Stewart edge punch to add detail to the card stock I used for the journaling spot as well as two other areas of embellishment.

The other thing I dug out of my stash were snaps. Do you remember those? I was tempted to get out my enamel dots to sprinkle around this layout, but opted to bust out the little more permanent snaps. Apparently I don't have a snap setter, because my eyelet setter flattened the tops of the snaps when I set them into the paper. Any snap tips, or is that part of the reason why no one uses them anymore?

Monday, October 17, 2016

This layout was created for Shimelle's class, the 20 Project. The challenge was to use horizontal and vertical photos happily.

I hadn't originally planned on revisiting this challenge since I had created a layout that met the challenge before I had gotten to it in the class, however I ran across some photos that would work, so went with it.

I have had product "kitted" for these photos for quite a while. I struggled on how to include all three photos on one page, but the story and photos really didn't warrant a two pager.

I really struggled with what to do with this page. I selected the blue card stock and the floral pattern from a Disney kit from years ago, I think. I then paired it with an orange pattern to match the second fairy we got our photo with.

Finally I found this layout on Pinterest and it drove my design to have the Mickey head shape in the background of my layout. Another friend of mine at a crop cut that out for me on her silhouette cameo.

The floral washi was a friend of mine. It was included in a Planner Society kit that she got, I believe. It pulled the blue and orange together.

I tried all kinds of things to try to pull the layout together, and the title finally did that for me. The green glitter Thickers made this layout. The tile letter stickers are from Simple Stories.

I used some printables and die cuts from a friend of mine, from her color bins, at a crop. The geo tag was from Studio Calico. I also had a cut apart paper from a 6x6 that I used for other embellishments.

I wanted to add splatters but worried about getting it right, so opted to try stamping with white acrylic paint. It looked good, but I kept going and over did it and decided to flip the card stock over and try again. In the end, I found white sequins that I thought worked well for this page.